Albany Catches
Picture: King George whiting, these fish move offshore as they mature.
Offshore enthusiasts who have been hitting the 60 to 85m depths west of town have been coming across big schools of pink snapper. Sizes for the pinks have varied from just over legal to 9kg thumpers. A good mix of breaksea cod, dhufish, pink, queen and red snapper have been picked up from the ground south of the marina together with the odd samson fish and yellowtail kingfish. When the weather has permitted, hapuka and bigger red snapper were caught at the edge of the shelf and beyond. King George whiting still require some effort through the inshore parts. Unusually large numbers of small flathead are about both harbours and the sound. Squid have been a little patchy with late afternoons and evenings producing better catches for boat and shore-based fishers.
Salmon are still about in pretty good numbers right along the coast with Bluff Creek, Cheynes Beach, Nanarup, Lowlands, Perkins, Bornholm and Shelley Beach among the better performing spots. Tailor have been coming from some of the beaches, mostly east of town, in their ones and twos. Herring can be sought from just about any patch of coast, especially areas that feature rock or reef. Skippy are being caught from the deep gutters and channels more regularly and there are some big tarwhine turning up. Mostly small black bream have been caught in the local rivers. The good news is, however, that the bream are still striking hard-bodied lures as well as soft plastics and baits. Mulloway have been hard to come by in the rivers recently.
Esperance Catches
Picture: Maxi with a nice samson fish (photo courtesy of @jim_and_fishing)
Surf fishers have been catching plenty of 1 to 2kg skippy at Fourteen Mile Beach and it would also be expected that similar size fish would start to turn up at Roses Beach soon, as they tend to do during this part of the season. Salmon have mostly been encountered in small schools, of no more than half a dozen fish, along the local beaches including Salmon Beach and Fourth Beach. A few mulloway and gummy sharks have been coming from the beaches east of town such as Thomas River, Alexander Bay and Poison Creek.
Small herring, a few snook and plenty of garfish can be sought at the Taylor Street Jetty. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour is worth a visit with quite a few King George whiting caught there recently. The boats that have been sticking to the bay and the ground just out from the local beaches have been picking up plenty of squid and sand whiting. Nannygai to 2kg, breaksea cod and samson fish were main species caught out wide.
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